“Brother Lawless was a true teacher,” said Robert R. Grimes, S.J., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center. “His enthusiasm for his students even outweighed his enthusiasm for his subject. Whenever he heard of a success by one of our alumni, he was in my office announcing it.”

Brother Lawless, a Xaverian brother, was born in Louisville. He held a B.S. from Catholic University, an M.S. from St. John’s University, and Ph.D.s in science education and biochemistry from New York University.

He joined Fordham’s Liberal Arts College in 1969 as the first scientist on the faculty of the young college, where he taught for 34 years. (FCLC, then known as “The Liberal Arts College,” began classes in September 1968.) Brother Lawless founded the Department of Science and Mathematics, which later became the Department of Natural Sciences, at Lincoln Center, and began FCLC’s very successful PreMedical Program. He was named associate professor emeritus in September 1990 (a mandatory retirement at age 70 was then in place), but continued to teach at FCLC until 2003, when he returned to Louisville to live at the Xaverian Brothers retirement home.

“Brother Lawless was a creative and insightful researcher,” said Joan Roberts, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Natural Sciences. “I personally benefited from our scientific collaboration. He was extremely generous as a mentor and arranged for many of our undergraduate students to do research work at Rockefeller University. He will be missed by all of us; scientists, mathematicians and all the faculty who knew him and worked with him here at Lincoln Center. We send out love to his family and have him in our prayers.”

Before coming to Fordham, Brother Lawless taught at Mt. St. Joseph’s High School in Baltimore, Md.; was headmaster of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Bardstown, Ky.; and taught for five years at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The wake and Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Brother Lawless at Ryken House, the Xaverian Brothers’ home in Louisville, on March 3 and March 4, respectively. Cards and flowers may be sent to:

Xaverian Brothers
1607 Poplar Level Road
Louisville, KY 40217

Roberts’ study of St. John’s Wort, which is available without a prescription, reveals that it is phototoxic. If it is ingested and the hypericin travels to the eye, and that person is then exposed to visible or ultraviolet bright light, the hypericin can induce changes in lens protein that could lead to the formation of cataracts, she said. Roberts, who studies ocular phototoxicity at both Fordham and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), has been conducting her research with two Fordham students, Michael Datillo and R.H. Wang, and Colin Chignell at the NIEHS. They have been researching which ingestible products — including drugs, herbs and food — can cause damage to the eye when exposed to light. Roberts’ findings are particularly alarming since millions of people take this natural remedy in combination with some form of light exposure as treatment for a form of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder, which usually strikes during the winter, when there are fewer hours of daylight. Compounding the risk is the fact that cataracts take five to 10 years to develop and during that period are symptomless. People at risk for developing cataracts may not know to choose alternate therapies to beat the winter blues. “I support effective alternative medicines,” Roberts said.

“However, in this case, I would either take St. John’s Wort or choose exposure to the sun [as treatment]. Certainly, people who take this herb should not simultaneously use light-box therapy or spend any time out in the sun whether walking, sunbathing, bike riding, swimming, skiing or performing any other outdoor activity.” Other experts in the field agree there is a correlation between the herb and bright light. Ivor Roots, a clinical pharmacologist at Humboldt University in Berlin, told New Scientist magazine in an article about Roberts’ research that in Germany it is “recommended to avoid tanning beds while taking St. Johns Wort.” Roberts’ next step is to conduct clinical studies with people who take St. John’s Wort regularly so she can determine accurately the frequency of cases where hypericin is present in their eyes. Determining the presence of hypericin is relatively easy to do since it is fluorescent and easily identifiable when looking at an eye using a method called ocular fluorometry, Roberts said.

As often is the case with science, the results of one study can serendipitously help other research efforts, and the St. John’s Wort/sun combination actually is shedding light on a potential cancer treatment. According to Roberts, scientists are studying the merits of photodynamic therapy (PDT), whereby light or laser stimulation enables an otherwise ineffective drug to kill cancerous cells. “PDT treatment methods are most effective for skin cancer, however, the method is very dangerous when used to treat eye- or brain-related cancers,” Roberts said. There’s a chance that the compound would leak and damage healthy cells and cancer-free areas when used to treat eye or brain cancers, she said. Roberts currently is testing her own method of PDT that kills forms of eye cancer without harming cancer-free areas.

Roberts’ study of St. John’s Wort, which is available without a prescription, reveals that it is phototoxic. If it is ingested and the hypericin travels to the eye, and that person is then exposed to visible or ultraviolet bright light, the hypericin can induce changes in lens protein that could lead to the formation of cataracts, she said. Roberts, who studies ocular phototoxicity at both Fordham and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), has been conducting her research with two Fordham students, Michael Datillo and R.H. Wang, and Colin Chignell at the NIEHS. They have been researching which ingestible products — including drugs, herbs and food — can cause damage to the eye when exposed to light. Roberts’ findings are particularly alarming since millions of people take this natural remedy in combination with some form of light exposure as treatment for a form of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder, which usually strikes during the winter, when there are fewer hours of daylight. Compounding the risk is the fact that cataracts take five to 10 years to develop and during that period are symptomless. People at risk for developing cataracts may not know to choose alternate therapies to beat the winter blues. “I support effective alternative medicines,” Roberts said. “However, in this case, I would either take St. John’s Wort or choose exposure to the sun [as treatment]. Certainly, people who take this herb should not simultaneously use light-box therapy or spend any time out in the sun whether walking, sunbathing, bike riding, swimming, skiing or performing any other outdoor activity.” Other experts in the field agree there is a correlation between the herb and bright light. Ivor Roots, a clinical pharmacologist at Humboldt University in Berlin, told New Scientist magazine in an article about Roberts’ research that in Germany it is “recommended to avoid tanning beds while taking St. Johns Wort.” Roberts’ next step is to conduct clinical studies with people who take St. John’s Wort regularly so she can determine accurately the frequency of cases where hypericin is present in their eyes. Determining the presence of hypericin is relatively easy to do since it is fluorescent and easily identifiable when looking at an eye using a method called ocular fluorometry, Roberts said. As often is the case with science, the results of one study can serendipitously help other research efforts, and the St. John’s Wort/sun combination actually is shedding light on a potential cancer treatment. According to Roberts, scientists are studying the merits of photodynamic therapy (PDT), whereby light or laser stimulation enables an otherwise ineffective drug to kill cancerous cells. “PDT treatment methods are most effective for skin cancer, however, the method is very dangerous when used to treat eye- or brain-related cancers,” Roberts said. There’s a chance that the compound would leak and damage healthy cells and cancer-free areas when used to treat eye or brain cancers, she said. Roberts currently is testing her own method of PDT that kills forms of eye cancer without harming cancer-free areas. Founded in 1841, Fordham is New York City’s Jesuit University. It has residential campuses in the north Bronx and Manhattan, and academic centers in Tarrytown and Armonk, NY.